Desertnate
05-21-2018, 04:00 PM
...and jumped into the more advanced paint coating world by applying CQuartz UK to my daughter`s car. Other than using a sample of the standard CQuartz on my wheels, I`ve only used the original Blackfire coating (a disaster) and the McKee`s 37 (so easy, no one can get it wrong)
Overall the project went pretty well and served as a great learning experience for me.
Here are some observations. Many are probably old news for the experienced pro`s here, but hopefully they will be of use to lesser experienced members like myself.
CQ UK was very grabby or sticky when being applied. This took me by surprise since since the normal CQ was so easy. I immediatly had flashbacks to the Blackfire coating nightmares, but in this instance the level of effor to apply the product remained consistant and I became more confident as I worked the car.
I had never really seen a coating flash in person before. It was interesting to see and everything people talk about and the videos all make sense.
Looking for high spots was very hard in good lighting on gray metallic paint. I can`t imaging how hard it is on silver or white!
The suede buffing towel which comes with the CQUK was a royal pain to use. A low nap MF towel is much easier for removing highspots
I need to learn to let things sit and don`t mess with it if I don`t see a high spot. The CQ UK took a REALLY long time to flash/start drying and instead of simply letting it cure, I kept tying to buff it out when it wasn`t needed, which led to more corrective work. This is no WO/WO coating!
I probably applied the product too thick which led to the long flash/curing time. I used nearly 20ml on a Mazda3 hatchback.
Good ventilation is really important. The weather was really windy, so to keep the dust an pollen out of the fresh coating I kept the garage door closed. I`m surprised I didn`t get loopy from coating vapors.
I really like using the MF suede swatches on a foam block to apply a coating. It`s a much smoother and even distribution than using an applicator like the one LC sells.
24 hour curing time is REALLY hard to deal with when coating a daily driver.
CQ UK produced a really nice shine on metallic gray paint; almost as if the car recieved a fresh clear coat. The gloss was noticeably higher than the freshly polished pannels. McKee`s 37 coating in my eyes never looked much different than 845, but CQ UK really looked good.
Despite the favorable experience, I`m even more torn when it comes to coatings. I know there are some on the market which better in several areas when compared to CQ UK, but the 24 hour cure time and the expense for something I`ll only keep on the car for 12~18 months is difficult justify (espicially with Gyeon raising their prices). I might look at others like TAC Systems, Gloss Shop Ceramic, or Fenylab Ceramic Lite which seem to be similar to CQ UK in the future, but until then I`ve got a can or CanCoat calling my name. At least now I have the expience!
Overall the project went pretty well and served as a great learning experience for me.
Here are some observations. Many are probably old news for the experienced pro`s here, but hopefully they will be of use to lesser experienced members like myself.
CQ UK was very grabby or sticky when being applied. This took me by surprise since since the normal CQ was so easy. I immediatly had flashbacks to the Blackfire coating nightmares, but in this instance the level of effor to apply the product remained consistant and I became more confident as I worked the car.
I had never really seen a coating flash in person before. It was interesting to see and everything people talk about and the videos all make sense.
Looking for high spots was very hard in good lighting on gray metallic paint. I can`t imaging how hard it is on silver or white!
The suede buffing towel which comes with the CQUK was a royal pain to use. A low nap MF towel is much easier for removing highspots
I need to learn to let things sit and don`t mess with it if I don`t see a high spot. The CQ UK took a REALLY long time to flash/start drying and instead of simply letting it cure, I kept tying to buff it out when it wasn`t needed, which led to more corrective work. This is no WO/WO coating!
I probably applied the product too thick which led to the long flash/curing time. I used nearly 20ml on a Mazda3 hatchback.
Good ventilation is really important. The weather was really windy, so to keep the dust an pollen out of the fresh coating I kept the garage door closed. I`m surprised I didn`t get loopy from coating vapors.
I really like using the MF suede swatches on a foam block to apply a coating. It`s a much smoother and even distribution than using an applicator like the one LC sells.
24 hour curing time is REALLY hard to deal with when coating a daily driver.
CQ UK produced a really nice shine on metallic gray paint; almost as if the car recieved a fresh clear coat. The gloss was noticeably higher than the freshly polished pannels. McKee`s 37 coating in my eyes never looked much different than 845, but CQ UK really looked good.
Despite the favorable experience, I`m even more torn when it comes to coatings. I know there are some on the market which better in several areas when compared to CQ UK, but the 24 hour cure time and the expense for something I`ll only keep on the car for 12~18 months is difficult justify (espicially with Gyeon raising their prices). I might look at others like TAC Systems, Gloss Shop Ceramic, or Fenylab Ceramic Lite which seem to be similar to CQ UK in the future, but until then I`ve got a can or CanCoat calling my name. At least now I have the expience!